Rule 5 of 6
Easy startKeep the o in hot, job and stop
Use the Kinyarwanda o as a starting point for hot, job and stop. Keep it short and match the Standard English recording. The sound spelling is an approximation: listen for the different vowel in hut, nut and cup.
Kinyarwanda vowels as starting points
These are rough learning approximations, not identical sounds. Listen to the recordings for the target sound and length.
start from a short o, then match the recording
a rough a-like starting point; match each recording
The o and a spellings draw on a contrast you already make in Kinyarwanda. Use that as a starting point, then listen closely to the examples. American hot and hut also have different vowel sounds; length alone does not explain their difference.
Keep o, not a
| Keep o | Different from a | Play both |
|---|---|---|
| not | nut | |
| hot | hut | |
| lock | luck | |
| shot | shut | |
| cop | cup | |
| dog | dug | |
| boss | bus | |
| body | buddy |
Everyday words with this short o
- job
- shop
- stop
- doctor
- hospital
- coffee
- office
- problem
- possible
- bottle
- body
- holiday
- sorry
- wrong
- long
Two sounds for the letter u
Most words spelt with u use the vowel in hut (hat): but, cup, bus, much. A short list uses a short u instead: put, push, full, sugar, butcher. The same short u is spelt oo in look, book and took.
One letter u, two starting points
Most words spelt with u start from a. A short list starts from u. Listen to the recordings for the target sound.
a rough a-like starting point; match each recording
start from a short u, a little towards o; match the recording
You can't tell from the spelling: but and put look alike but sound different. Learn the short list of words below and say every other u as a short a, starting from your Kinyarwanda a. Say luck as lak, not luk, which sounds like look.
| u, as in put | a, as in hut | Play both |
|---|---|---|
| lookluk | lucklak | |
| bookbuk | buckbak | |
| tooktuk | tucktak |
Words with this short u
- put
- push
- pull
- full
- bull
- bush
- butcher
- sugar
- cushion
- pudding
- bullet
- input
- output
- bulletin
- ambush
- bulldozer